Border Patrol told to stand down in Arizona

[dasmi]

Enjoy.

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050513-122032-5055r.htm

Border Patrol told to stand down in Arizona


By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

U.S. Border Patrol agents have been ordered not to arrest illegal aliens along the section of the Arizona border where protesters patrolled last month because an increase in apprehensions there would prove the effectiveness of Minuteman volunteers, The Washington Times has learned.
More than a dozen agents, all of whom asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, said orders relayed by Border Patrol supervisors at the Naco, Ariz., station made it clear that arrests were "not to go up" along the 23-mile section of border that the volunteers monitored to protest illegal immigration.
"It was clear to everyone here what was being said and why," said one veteran agent. "The apprehensions were not to increase after the Minuteman volunteers left. It was as simple as that."
Another agent said the Naco supervisors "were clear in their intention" to keep new arrests to an "absolute minimum" to offset the effect of the Minuteman vigil, adding that patrols along the border have been severely limited.
Border Patrol Chief David V. Aguilar at the agency's Washington headquarters called the accusations "outright wrong," saying that supervisors at the Naco station had not blocked agents from making arrests and that the station's 350 agents were being "supported in carrying out" their duties.
"Border Patrol agents are the front line of defense against terrorism," Chief Aguilar said, adding that the 11,000 agents nationwide are "meeting that challenge, head-on ... as daunting a task as that may sound."
The chief -- a former head of the agency's Tucson sector, which includes the Naco station -- said that with the world watching the Arizona border because of the Minuteman Project, agents in Naco "demonstrated flexibility and resilience in carrying out their critical homeland security duties and responsibilities."
But Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican, yesterday said "credible sources" within the Border Patrol also had told him of the decision by Naco supervisors to keep new arrests to a minimum, saying he was angry but not surprised.
"It's like telling a cop to stand by and watch burglars loot a store but don't arrest any of them," he said. "This is another example of decisions being made at the highest levels of the Border Patrol that are hurting morale and helping to rot the agency from within.
"I worry about our efforts in Congress to increase the number of agents," he said. "Based on these kinds of orders, we could spend the equivalent of the national debt and never have secure borders."
Mr. Tancredo, chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, blamed the Bush administration for setting an immigration enforcement tone that suggests to those enforcing the law that he is not serious about secure borders.
"We need to get the president to come to grips with the seriousness of the problem," he said. "I know he doesn't like to utter the words, 'I was wrong,' but if we have another incident like September 11 by people who came through our borders without permission, I hope he doesn't have to say 'I'm sorry.' "
During the Minuteman vigil, Border Patrol supervisors in Arizona discounted their efforts, saying a drop in apprehensions during their protest was because of the Mexican government's deployment of military and police south of the targeted area and a new federal program known as the Arizona Border Control Initiative that brought manpower increases to the state.
The Naco supervisors blamed the volunteers for unnecessarily tripping sensors, disturbing draglines and interfering with the normal operations of the agents. They said that their impact on illegals was "negligible" and that civilians should leave immigration enforcement "to the professionals."
Several field agents credited the volunteers with cutting the flow of illegal aliens in the targeted Naco area, saying the number of apprehended illegals dropped from an average of 500 a day to less than 15 a day.
More than 850 volunteers, in a protest of the lax immigration enforcement policies of the White House and Congress, sought to reduce the flow of illegal aliens along a popular immigration corridor on the Arizona-Mexico border near Naco by reporting illegals to the Border Patrol as they crossed into the United States.
Their goal was to show that increased manpower on the border would effectively deter illegal immigration. Organizers said the protest resulted in Border Patrol arrests of 349 illegal aliens.
Area residents, in a half-page ad in the Sunday edition of the Sierra Vista Herald, told the volunteers: "Thanks for doing what our government won't -- close the border to illegal aliens. It was the quietest month we've had in many years ... You made us feel safe because the border was closed."

 

[2nd Amendment]

Does the nature of current events related to ID and immigration seem like a developing nightmare to anyone else? I feel like I am on a train heading off a cliff and not only is there not a damn thing to do about it but nobody around me even seems to notice?

 

[dasmi]

I notice.

 

[Cool Hand Luke 22:36]

Proving once again that George W. Bush is a flat-out bald faced liar every time he mumbles something about how his administration is taking border security seriously.

"I worry about our efforts in Congress to increase the number of agents," he said. "Based on these kinds of orders, we could spend the equivalent of the national debt and never have secure borders."

AFAIR Bush refused to carry out a fully funded Congressional mandate to hire 5000 new Border Patrol agents in the past few months.

 

[itgoesboom]

"Does the nature of current events related to ID and immigration seem like a developing nightmare to anyone else? I feel like I am on a train heading off a cliff and not only is there not a damn thing to do about it but nobody around me even seems to notice?"

Some of us notice. But your right, there isn't much we can do about it. My boss and I are constantly discussing this at work, trying to get everyone else intrested, drumming up support for closing the borders to illegals. Everyone agrees with us, but nobody cares enough to write letters, call senators, or do anything about it.

We have our bread, we have our circuses, and nobody cares about anything else.

BTW....How does .gov justify encouraging foreign nationals to break our laws in order to "disprove" what our own citizens and patriots just proved to the Nation?

I.G.B.

PS...thats it, after being a Republican my entire life, supporting the GOP through almost all elections, locally and nationally, I am through voting for anyone in the GOP party. I am not a libertarian (don't favor open borders, legallized drugs and abortion), so I guess I am stuck with the Constitution party.

 

[Desertdog]

I will be sending a copy of this news article to President Bush, Senator Boxer and Feinstink, and maybe a few others, not that I expect it to make a difference, but it might, if enough other people would say something.

 

[Sindawe]

old Charlie stole the handle and the train won't stop going no way to slow down.

I too have noticed 2nd Amendment. And after reading the above article, I'm so FRELLING PISSED about it I could just freaking spit.

Deep breath. 1...2...3...4...5...6....

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is not the Border Patrol part of the Executive Branch of the federal .gov? And ultimately, does not the final responsibility for the actions (or lack there of) fall apon the person who sits at the head of the Executive Branch and occupies the Oval Office? That would be one Mr. George W. Bush, would it not? This strikes me as a grievous dereliction of duty by Mr. Bush and his whole administration.

Mr. George W. Bush is an Oathbreaker, plain and simple, and at the very least deserves to be impeached, removed from office and shunned by the rest of the country.

 

[tyme]

The person(s) responsible for this order need to be identified and tried for treason.

 

[Captain Ron]

I agree with tyme they should be fired on the spot even if goes all the to Bush

 

[flatrock]

"AFAIR Bush refused to carry out a fully funded Congressional mandate to hire 5000 new Border Patrol agents in the past few months."

I don't support Bush's appalling aproach to border patrol, but I have not seen anything resemblinb a fully funded mandate to hire 5000 new Border Patrol agents come out of Congress that should be in it's implementation phase.

Can you point me to a reference for this?

 

[feedthehogs]

What makes some shlub at work get off his fat butt and do something?






Screw with his pay check.

The only way to make these people sit up and notice is for everyone to with hold tax dollars going to state and the federal goverment.

Its the only thing that will send a message that the owners of this country, its citizens, are tired of being ignored and treated like dirt.

Everything else is a waste of time.

 

[TarpleyG]

Okay 'hogs Who's going first? You?

but if we have another incident like September 11 by people who came through our borders without permission,

As much as I hate to say it, this is probably exactly what we need. The other side to that is more restrictive/intrusive policies like the unPATRIOTic ACT. The terrorists have won folks. We may as well start waving the white flag--not that it matters to the enemy anyway.

Greg

 

[Cool Hand Luke 22:36]

flatrock:

It looks like the actual figure will be closer to 10,000 Border Patrol Agents that Bush will be refusing to hire.

By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Senate Democrats yesterday challenged President Bush's decision to hire 210 new Border Patrol agents for next fiscal year, saying he reneged on a promise to add 2,000 agents when he signed the intelligence overhaul bill in December.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd, West Virginia Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the Bush proposal, submitted as part of the Homeland Security Department's $41.1 billion budget, "ignores the stark reality of the resources needed to secure the homeland."
At a meeting of the Appropriations homeland security subcommittee, Mr. Byrd said the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act signed Dec. 6 by Mr. Bush authorized the hiring of 2,000 new agents in each of the next five years, and in a letter that day to Congress, the president called the bill "an important step in strengthening our immigration laws by ... increasing the number of Border Patrol agents."
Democrats have made the Border Patrol funding an issue in the past month, arguing that it shows that the president's priorities are misplaced — both on border security and on the broader issue of immigration reform.
Last month, House Democrats tried to block a Republican-backed bill to crack down on illegal immigrants' use of driver's licenses and limit asylum claims, arguing that Mr. Bush should first fund the promised number of Border Patrol agents as a way of proving that he is serious about homeland security.
Mr. Byrd said the intelligence overhaul bill also authorized the hiring of 800 new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and approved funding for 8,000 new detention beds for illegal aliens.
"Yet, when the president submitted his budget request two months after sending that letter, virtually no funds were requested for any of these activities," he said. "At the same time, the president's own terrorism experts are extremely concerned about the threat terrorists pose to our borders."
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was "not happy" with the president's decision, noting that 200 of the 2,000 new Border Patrol agents were supposed to be assigned along the U.S.-Canada border.
Mr. Leahy, also an Appropriations homeland security subcommittee member, said Mr. Bush had failed to heed what he described as a congressional mandate to substantially increase the number of agents along the northern and southern borders.
"The administration is ignoring the call for substantial increases in staffing for the Border Patrol," he said.
The intelligence overhaul bill was part of Congress' response to the September 11 commission, which found deep institutional failings and missed opportunities by U.S. authorities in stopping the al Qaeda terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The senators' concerns fell to Robert C. Bonner, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which oversees the Border Patrol. Asked directly whether 200 new agents were enough to protect America's homeland, he said, "Yes — given the right combination of agents and technology, if we work smarter and do a better job."
Mr. Bonner told the subcommittee CBP is developing a "comprehensive and unified system of electronic surveillance," which will be critical to the Border Patrol's ability to increase apprehensions and establish greater control of the border.
The $84 million program, known as America's Shield Initiative (ASI), will enhance sensor and video surveillance capabilities; integrate new, state-of-the-art surveillance technologies; and increase the Border Patrol's ability to work with other law-enforcement agencies, he said.
"Expanding the portion of the border covered by electronic surveillance, integration of new components and technologies and improved agent support equipment via the ASI program will provide the Border Patrol with increased ability to meet its and CBP's priority mission threats," he said.
Newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff later told the subcommittee he has ordered a comprehensive review of the department's organization, operations and policies to see what changes might be necessary "to better enable us to identify, prevent and, if necessary, mitigate and respond to attacks on our homeland."
Mr. Chertoff said the review would include a look at the department's structure, operations, policies and missions to ensure they are targeted, effective and efficient.
"Our philosophy, our decision-making, our operational activities and our spending must be grounded in risk management as we determine how to best organize to prevent, respond and recover from attacks," the secretary said.
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Wisconsin Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, also has been "disappointed" in the president's decision not to fund 2,000 new agents. He asked Mr. Bush in a letter last month to fully fund the increases authorized in the bill.
The letter was signed by all five House Republican leaders on the intelligence bill: Mr. Sensenbrenner and Reps. Henry J. Hyde of Illinois; Duncan Hunter and David Dreier of California; and Peter Hoekstra of Michigan.
•Stephen Dinan contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20050303-123638-7500r.htm

 

[waterhouse]

I've said this before . . .I've been accepted to the Border Patrol for well over a year now. I have a letter dated October 9th, 2003 (that's not a typo, I mean 2003, about 580 days ago) which states that "You have completed all required steps for the posistion of Border Patrol Agent. You will be contacted by the training unit within 60 days for your assignment."

Due to budget regulations, no new agents have been added to California or Texas in 2 years, and even Arizona, where most new hires have been going, is understaffed.

I'm not the only one in this situation. There are literally hundreds of qualified applicants who have already completed the nearly year long hiring process (The background investigation alone take about 9 months to pass) and been told that they would be contacted within 60 days, but very few of them have been contacted.

I can say with 100% certainty that this is not an issue the gov't takes seriously.

 

[dasmi]

They said that their impact on illegals was "negligible" and that civilians should leave immigration enforcement "to the professionals."

No. I will not.

The person(s) responsible for this order need to be identified and tried for treason.

People used to be executed for treason. Can we bring that back?

 

[centac]

BP Training

Waterhouse,

The problem may be in the training pipeline - there simply isnt room for the volume of trainees being shoved through FLETC and FLETC West. You can only do so many, so fast.

 

[ProGlock]

Uh, sorry guys. As much as I detest what Bush is doing (or rather not doing) he will not catch any flak over this. Why? Well see for yourselves:

Provisions of the RealID Act of 2005


SEC. 102. WAIVER OF LAWS NECESSARY FOR IMPROVEMENT OF BARRIERS AT BORDERS.

Section 102© of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1103 note) is amended to read as follows:

`© Waiver-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the authority to waive, and shall waive, all laws such Secretary, in such Secretary's sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section.

`(2) NO JUDICIAL REVIEW- Notwithstanding any other provision of law (statutory or nonstatutory), no court, administrative agency, or other entity shall have jurisdiction--

`(A) to hear any cause or claim arising from any action undertaken, or any decision made, by the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to paragraph (1); or

`(B) to order compensatory, declaratory, injunctive, equitable, or any other relief for damage alleged to arise from any such action or decision.'.

 

[waterhouse]

Centec,

It has to do with a lot of problems, but the main one is money. Not one new trainee was sent to the academy between March 2004 and Feb. 2005 due to budget problems with DHS. That's almost a full year, which meant that the number of new trainees barely covered attrition. The academy lasts about 5 months, so there were trainees being trained during this time, but when one class graduated it was not replaced by a new class.

At the time, only a small section of the Border Patrol was being trained at FLETC in GA. Perhaps one class in 6 was trained at FLETC; a class consists of 50 students. The Border Patrol has their own academy, and it was in Charleston, SC, but was moved to Artesia, NM this year. Hiring has picked up this year, which is promising, but during the months leading up to the election, when both parties were speaking of how we needed to protect our borders, there were no new trainees being trained. In fact, several instructors detailed to the academy were sent back to their regular duty stations because there weren't enough students to justify them being at the academy.

In short, the problem was not with the training pipeline. This is further evidenced by Bush's recent request for funding for 210 new agents next year, when previously he had signed off on the report saying that 2,000 were needed per year for the next 5 years. Oh, and then there is the whole amnesty thing. I'll back W on a lot of things, but the immigration policy is not one of them.

 

[rick_reno]

This article must be a fabrication - our President has told us how important national security is and there is no way he would let something like this happen.

 

[dasmi]

It seems our president is a liar. I don't think I can vote republican anymore. And I know I can't vote Democrat. Constitution party, here I come.

 

[rick_reno]

I don't think I can vote republican anymore.

You'll vote Republican - most of us will when faced with the prospect of Hillary Clinton.

 

[itgoesboom]

You'll vote Republican - most of us will when faced with the prospect of Hillary Clinton.

Nope. Not anymore. Not I. I will no longer vote for a party that doesn't protect our country.

Even if it means that Hillary becomes President. Not what I want, but I cannot support the Republican Party anymore.

I will not vote again for the "less of two evils".

I.G.B.

 

[wingman]

You'll vote Republican - most of us will when faced with the prospect of Hillary Clinton.

Actually no, long time supporter of the republican party if we continue on present path I will vote against them. The hope of the Republican party is there faithful base will stay wtih them no matter how much they hurt you.
It may be a protest vote but its looking that way.

 

[dasmi]

I'm with you. Unless they run someone who I believe will stand up for the conversative value the Republican party claims to support, I will not vote Republican.

 

[fjolnirsson]

Nope. Not anymore. Not I. I will no longer vote for a party that doesn't protect our country.

Even if it means that Hillary becomes President. Not what I want, but I cannot support the Republican Party anymore.

I will not vote again for the "less of two evils".

I.G.B.

I.G.B.,

You might check out the link in my signature.